U.S. patent number 7,814,929 [Application Number 10/540,663] was granted by the patent office on 2010-10-19 for clean line heated valve.
Invention is credited to Graham William Pickering, Gary Wayne Yewdall.
United States Patent |
7,814,929 |
Yewdall , et al. |
October 19, 2010 |
Clean line heated valve
Abstract
A valve of cleanable design capable of maintaining unfavourable
conditions for microbial activity on the downstream side and/or
outlet of the valve, said valve comprising: A smooth and contoured
body (5) with an integral upstream connector (1), downstream
connector and defined fluid flow path; a flexible sealing membrane
(9) being: (i) selectively moveable into contact with the valve
body to close the valve; (ii) selectively moveable out of contact
with the valve body to open the valve; (iii) selectively operable
to a range of positions to vary the flow rate of fluid through said
valve; a defined internal shape that allows the fluid to drain out
of the valve body; an elongated heater (7) secured into the valve
body in a location so as not to be contact with the fluid or
disrupt the internal smooth and contoured body, the heater being
operative to heat the valve body to a predetermined
temperature.
Inventors: |
Yewdall; Gary Wayne (Geelong
VIC 3215, AU), Pickering; Graham William (Geelong VIC
3220, AU) |
Family
ID: |
30004622 |
Appl.
No.: |
10/540,663 |
Filed: |
December 23, 2003 |
PCT
Filed: |
December 23, 2003 |
PCT No.: |
PCT/AU03/01722 |
371(c)(1),(2),(4) Date: |
June 23, 2005 |
PCT
Pub. No.: |
WO2004/057221 |
PCT
Pub. Date: |
July 08, 2004 |
Prior Publication Data
|
|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20060144443 A1 |
Jul 6, 2006 |
|
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
|
Dec 23, 2002 [AU] |
|
|
2002953538 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
137/341;
251/331 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F16K
7/126 (20130101); F16K 7/16 (20130101); F16K
49/002 (20130101); Y10T 137/6606 (20150401) |
Current International
Class: |
F16K
49/00 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;137/334,341
;251/331,61.1 ;138/45 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Other References
European Patent Office, Supplementary European Search Report, for
the corresponding European Patent Application No. EP 03 78 5408
mailed Dec. 15, 2005. cited by other.
|
Primary Examiner: Fox; John
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Brooks Kushman P.C.
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. A valve of a cleanable design capable of maintaining
unfavourable conditions for microbial activity on the downstream
side and/or outlet of the valve, said valve comprising: a smooth
and contoured unitary valve body with an integral upstream
connector extending from the body, a downstream connector extending
from the body, and a smooth and contoured internal shape for
providing a defined liquid flow path therebetween, wherein the
downstream connector extends from the body for selectively
supplying liquid and draining a portion of the liquid passing
through the body; the internal shape having an upstream void in
liquid communication with the upstream connector, the internal
shape also having a downstream void in liquid communication with
the downstream connector; wherein a sealing face separates the
downstream void from the upstream void; a flexible sealing membrane
cooperating with the sealing face, the sealing membrane being: i.
selectively moveable into contact with the sealing face of said
valve body to close said valve; ii. selectively moveable out of
contact with the sealing face of said valve body to open and allow
draining of said valve by allowing liquid communication through the
internal shape; and iii. selectively operable to a range of
positions relative to the sealing face to vary the flow rate of
liquid through said valve; and an elongated heater mounted adjacent
to the downstream connector and within said valve body in a
location so as not to be in contact with the liquid or disrupt the
smooth and contoured internal shape and, the valve body being
contoured by removal of metal with a slotted cavity forming a
thermal break to limit heat to the liquid in the upstream void,
said heater being operative to locally heat the downstream void and
the downstream connector portion of the valve body to a
predetermined temperature.
2. The valve as set forth in claim 1, wherein the heater is capable
of raising the temperature at the downstream void and the
downstream connector to promote drying by reducing surface tension
of the liquid for better draining, and by increasing
evaporation.
3. The valve as set forth in claim 2, wherein the heater is capable
of raising the temperature on the downstream void and the
downstream connector of said valve above 60 C.
4. A valve of cleanable design capable of regulating and or
supplying a selected quantity of liquid that possesses enhanced
properties at elevated temperatures, said valve comprising: a
smooth and contoured unitary valve body with an integral upstream
connector extending from opposing sides of the body to define a
cylindrical passage through the body for supplying liquid, a
downstream connector extending transversely from the body to form a
branch line for selectively draining a portion of the liquid
passing through the body, and a smooth and contoured internal shape
formed within the body for providing a defined liquid flow path
between the upstream connector and the downstream connector; the
internal shape having an upstream void in liquid communication with
the upstream connector, the internal shape also having a downstream
void in liquid communication with the downstream connector; wherein
a sealing face separates the downstream void from the upstream
void; a flexible sealing membrane cooperating with the sealing
face, the sealing membrane being: i. selectively moveable into
contact with the sealing face of said valve body to close said
valve; ii. selectively moveable out of contact with the sealing
face of said valve body to open and allow draining of said valve by
allowing liquid communication through the internal shape; and iii.
selectively operable to a range of positions relative to the
sealing face to vary the flow rate of liquid through the valve; and
an elongated heater mounted between the upstream void and the
downstream connector and within a cylindrical cavity formed in said
valve body in a location axially offset from the upstream connector
so as not to be in contact with the liquid or disrupt the smooth
and contoured internal shape and, the valve body being contoured by
removal of metal from an exterior surface thereby forming a slotted
cavity to provide a thermal break for preventing the heating of the
liquid within the upstream connector, said heater being operative
to locally heat the downstream void and the downstream connector
portion of the valve body to a predetermined temperature and for
maximizing the heat conducted into the sealing face that comes into
contact with the flexible sealing membrane.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a smooth and contoured heated valve
capable of: Providing a dry and biostatic environment on the
downstream side and/or outlet of the valve. Throttling and
isolating fluids best handled in a cleanable valve, possessing
enhanced properties at elevated temperatures; Assist in maintaining
sterilising conditions on the process contact side of a valve
attached to sterilising apparatus
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A typical application for the cleanable heated valve is in process
industries that require a supply of high purity water within
prescribed contamination limits supplied in custom designed systems
with specific materials, finishes, process conditions and cleaning
requirements, where cleaning can range from simple common cleaning
methods to sanitisation and or sterilisation.
Quite often high purity water is required for specific operations
in a number of industries, and is required to be supplied at
various flow rates through smooth easy to clean valves. Whilst
there are commercially available techniques to maintain water
quality within the closed piping system, maintaining unfavourable
conditions for microbiological activity in the downstream side of
the valve and valve outlet that is exposed to the environment, can
be a problem especially in systems below 60.degree. C.
The moist, cold to warm environment of the discharge side of the
valve and valve outlet, which is exposed to the room air, provides
an ideal atmosphere for microbiological activity. Depending upon
the size of the outlet and the temperature of the water it is
possible for a plug of water to hold-up in the nozzle when not in
use further aggravating the problem.
It is possible to steam sterilise the downstream side of the valve
and outlet prior to use but this requires more valves, a pure steam
supply and associated hardware. It is also not practical to steam
sterilise a valve outlet where the water is frequently required.
Steam can also be a safety hazard and for the abovementioned
reasons steam is not a good general solution to the problem. It is
also possible to sanitise the outlet by a number of methods
including hot water, chemicals and oxidising agents. Like steam,
these methods introduce complications and can only be effective
during the sterilisation/sanitisation cycle once removed or when
the outlet is reused contamination can begin to reoccur.
Another typical application for the cleanable heated valve is in
process industries where there is a need to supply, isolate or
regulate the flow of fluids that exhibit enhanced properties at
elevated temperatures, in smooth cleanable valves.
A typical example could be the transfer of food products that are
processed in systems of specific materials, finishes and
clean-ability requirements. Another example could be the transfer
of a product that is a liquid above a specific temperature but
solidifies below that specific temperature or liquids that tend to
create cleaning difficulties at certain temperatures and require
cleanable systems including valves.
Another typical application for the cleanable heated valve is
isolation valves at the boundary of systems or heat treatment
apparatus containing items, products, medium, waste or the like
being heat treated, sterilised or decontaminated. It is usually
necessary to demonstrate that the required treatment temperature is
achieved in all exposed internal regions of the said system or heat
treatment apparatus. Quite often these said systems or heat
treatment apparatus contain valves to serve a multitude of
purposes. Said valves can often provide "cold spots" in such
applications due to the mass of metal exposed to the colder outer
environment making it difficult to achieve the required treatment
temperatures.
In the abovementioned applications it is typical to externally wrap
the piping and/or valves and the like with electrical heated wire
coils or small bore steam piping, known as heat tracing, or to use
steam jackets. Whilst these techniques are successful on
interconnecting pipes it is difficult to provide enough energy from
the outer exposed surfaces to heat-up the thick mass of metal found
in smooth cleanable type valves to achieve the required
temperatures on the inside surfaces of the valve. Heat tracing and
associated protection coverings when applied to valve bodies can be
bulky, difficult to apply efficiently and difficult reapply after
removal for maintenance and can create external cleaning issues in
hygienic industries.
There are patents existing for heated valves in the casting molten
metal industry, refer U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,752,562, 5,531,245
The valves covered in the above mentioned patents comprise of
internal joints, crevices, sliding grooves and attachments. The
resulting nooks and crannies provide areas for product to lodge,
harbouring microbiological contamination and creating difficulties
for cleaning. This makes the said valves unsuitable for hygienic
industries or where cleaning or sterilisation is an issue. The
design of these said valves for the molten metal industry could
also contain "cold spots" due to changes in material and limited
contact with the metallic body of the heating element. Also, given
that the heating element is in contact with the process fluids,
there are potential issues with localised hot spots that can
denature proteins and certain food products, gaps where product and
wastes can lodge between the heater and valve body. It would also
be difficult for the said valves to comply with the material
compatibility, surface finish, certification and traceability
requirements of the food and health science industries.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention addresses the shortcomings discussed with the
current processes and prior inventions. It is an object of the
present invention to provide a cleanable heated valve capable of
achieving conditions in the downstream side of the valve and outlet
that are unfavourable for microbiological activity by assisting in
the drying process of the downstream side of the valve body and
outlet and maintaining said valve areas dry and at an elevated
temperature after use.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a
cleanable heated valve that is compact, elegant, simple to use and
is available for use as required.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a
cleanable heated valve for regulating or supplying medium that
exhibit enhanced properties at elevated temperatures by providing
sufficient temperature conditions inside the valve as required by
the medium for flow and sufficient temperature across the metal
sealing face that comes into contact with the flexible sealing
membrane.
It is another object of the invention to provide a cleanable heated
valve with a polymeric colour coating in selective areas to,
minimise the surface temperature for personnel safety, maximise the
heat into the valve body and downstream connector and to allow
colour coding of valves.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a
cleanable heated valve to handle medium that exhibit enhanced
properties at elevated temperatures that tend to stick to surfaces
or valve discontinuities when hot, or as a result of cooling, or
that require stringent cleaning. It is another object of the
present invention to provide a heated valve that is smooth,
cleanable and able to be constructed from traceable materials
suitable for handling of medium for regulated industries such as
food, biotech, pharmaceuticals, health sciences and the like.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a
cleanable heated valve for systems or heat treatment apparatus
containing items, products, medium, waste or the like being heat
treated, sterilised or decontaminated, said valve to enable the
required temperature to be achieved including the body of said
valve exposed to the internal heat treated envelope.
The present invention has an internal smooth and contoured body
with an integral upstream connector, downstream connector and
defined fluid flow path. The smooth and continuous nature of said
valve body allows for thorough cleaning by a range of commercial
methods. There is a flexible sealing membrane being: i. Selectively
moveable into contact with the said valve body to close said valve;
ii. Selectively moveable out of contact with the said valve body to
open said valve. iii. Selectively operable to a range of positions
to vary the flow rate of fluid through said valve;
Said flexible sealing membrane can remain in place for Clean In
Place methods or removable for hand cleaning.
The internal surface of the valve body has a defined shape that
allows the medium to drain out of the said valve body if
required.
There is an elongate heater secured into said valve body in a
location so as not to be in contact with the fluid or disrupt the
internal smooth and contoured body, said heater being operative to
heat the valve body to the temperature dictated by the process.
When the cleanable heated valve is to be utilised as a plain
outlet, the downstream connector can be contoured and smooth to
promote free draining including a small discontinuity to break
surface tension, to further aid draining.
The heated cleanable valve has a thermodynamic external body shape
to maximise achievable temperature into the metal sealing face that
comes into contact with the flexible sealing membrane and the
downstream side and down stream connector of the said valve.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an exploded front perspective view of a cleanable heated
valve according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 1A is another front perspective view of the valve of FIG.
1;
FIG. 1B is an enlarged side perspective partial view of the valve
of FIG. 1;
FIG. 2 is a front cross sectional view of the valve of FIG. 1;
FIG. 2A is a front perspective view of the valve of FIG. 2.
EMBODIMENTS
Description of the Embodiments
Embodiments of the present invention are described, by way of
example only, by reference to the accompanying drawings, it should
be noted that the following description is not intended as limiting
the broader aspects of the present invention.
Referring to FIGS. 1-1B, the upstream connector (1), shown attached
to the cleanable heated valve body (5), is represented as a
perpendicular flow line close coupled to the upstream contoured
void (3).
The upstream connector (1), shown attached to the cleanable heated
valve body (5), is represented as a perpendicular flow line close
coupled to the upstream contoured void (3).
It should be appreciated, however, that the upstream connector is
an attachment to supply the medium to the cleanable heated valve
body and therefore can take a number of other forms other than that
displayed, including but not limited to; another connected valve,
plain inlet tube or pipe, associated tube or pipe fittings, vessel
or tank wall, wall of sterilising apparatus or the like.
The downstream connector (2) shown attached to the cleanable heated
valve body (5) is represented as a plain outlet type nozzle. It
should be appreciated, however, that the down steam connector is an
attachment to discharge the medium from the clean line heated valve
body and therefore can take a number of other forms than that
displayed, including but not limited to; another connected valve,
perpendicular flow line close coupled to the downstream contoured
void (4), plain inlet tube or pipe, associated tube or pipe
fittings, vessel or tank wall, sterilising apparatus wall or the
like.
The upstream flow-path is defined by an upstream contoured void (3)
through which the medium will pass from the upstream connector over
the sealing face (6) and through the cleanable heated valve body
(5) when the sealing membrane (9) is lifted by operating the flow
activation knob (10). The downstream flow-path is defined by a
downstream contoured void (4) through which the medium will flow
through the cleanable heated valve body (5) from the upstream
contoured void (3) over the sealing face (6) into the downstream
connector (2) when the sealing membrane (9) is lifted by operating
the flow activation knob (10), shown as being suited to manual
activation, but may also be automatic such as pneumatic or
electronic or the like.
The cleanable heated valve body defines the medium flow path and
contains fixing holes (8) to enable the sealing membrane and flow
activation knob to be securely attached to the valve body.
With reference to FIGS. 2-2A, to raise the temperature of the
cleanable valve to achieve the desired conditions there is a
cylindrical heating element (7) securely fixed into the heated
valve body powered by electrical wires. The heating element is
positioned so as to not penetrate the smooth cleanable inner
surface of the valve nor come into contact with the medium inside
or passing through the valve. Where the cleanable heated valve is
to be utilised as an outlet to provide a medium free of
microbiological contamination, the down stream connector plain
outlet type nozzle (2) can be optionally contoured on the upper
portion of said nozzle, as shown (11) to help assist in unlocking
any held-up medium in the nozzle when the valve is closed in order
to promote rapid free draining of the nozzle.
To raise the temperature of the cleanable valve to achieve the
desired conditions there is a cylindrical heating element (7)
securely fixed into the heated valve body powered by electrical
wires. The heating element is positioned so as to not penetrate the
smooth cleanable inner surface of the valve nor come into contact
with the medium inside or passing through the valve. Where the
cleanable heated valve is to be utilised as an outlet to provide a
medium free of microbiological contamination, the down stream
connector plain outlet type nozzle (2) can be optionally contoured
on the upper portion of said nozzle, as shown (11) to help assist
in unlocking any held-up medium in the nozzle when the valve is
closed in order to promote rapid free draining of the nozzle.
The lower portion of the cleanable heated valve body, between the
upstream connector and the cylindrical heating element, can be
contoured to remove metal, forming a cavity (12), for the
applications where cool medium is flowing in the upstream connector
in order to maximise the temperature across the metal sealing face,
downstream contoured void and the discharge connector.
The lower portion of the cleanable valve body, between the
cylindrical heating element and discharge connector is contoured to
remove metal to maximise the temperature in the downstream
contoured void and the discharge connector.
* * * * *